ALONG LA CROISETTE

The Cannes opener is . . .

Heralded Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") has landed the coveted opening-night slot Wednesday at the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival. His film "Blindness," starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, is a psychological thriller about a city succumbing to an epidemic. It joins a slate of films including Clint Eastwood's thriller "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie, and Steven Soderbergh's double Che Guevara biopics: "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla." Screening outside of competition at the festival, which ends May 25, is Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

To see exclusive footage and photos of the film "Blindness," as well as keep tabs as Times film critic Kenneth Turan and staff writers John Horn and Sheigh Crabtree file live reports from the red carpet and beyond, go to latimes.com/cannes.